How to install a car seat: features, types and recommendations

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

Modern parents live in a fast paced life, and the car is the main assistant of many moms and dads. It allows you to move around the city with a newborn in a convenient and comfortable mode. A small child, like no one else, needs protection from injury. For the transportation of infants up to a year in the car, a special chair is used - a cradle, which meets all safety requirements. You can read more about how to install a car seat in your car and how to choose the safest seat in this article.

Why do you need an infant carrier

Most parents know what a car seat is for. At least, everyone is familiar with the law of the Russian Federation, which obliges parents to fasten their children using a special booster or car seat. The fine for non-compliance with this rule is 3,000 rubles, while police officers carefully monitor its implementation. The exception is schoolchildren from 7 years old: fortheir safety will be enough to fasten them with a regular belt. For children under one year old, there is a special cradle in the line of car seats, which differs from ordinary seats in that the child is in a horizontal position in it. The design of the seat is such that even in a collision with another car, the newborn will not be seriously injured.

Pros and Cons of Buying

Purchasing a car seat is not a whim or a whim of traffic police officers, but a tool that saves the lives of hundreds of children every day. This is proved by statistics: according to the data, about 1,000 children die in road accidents and 22,000 receive injuries of varying severity every year. Many injuries can be prevented or reduced by using a car seat that is appropriate for age and weight and properly installed in the car. Many parents still believe that the baby feels safer in her arms, and in case of danger, the mother will be able to hold the child with her hands. But this opinion is far from the truth. The fact is that every 10 km / h multiply the weight of a person several times. And even at a low speed of 40-50 km / h, the load on the mother’s hands will be 70-100 kilograms, instead of the usual 10. Not a single person will be able to hold such a weight in an accident, so the child will most likely receive very serious injuries. That is why experts do not recommend saving on a car seat and purchasing it before the birth of a child. Even a short trip home from the hospital should not be made unfastened.

Types of infant carriers

Many parents ask abouthow to install the infant carrier in the car. To answer this question, you must first understand what type of car seat you have purchased. At the moment, the following varieties can be found in stores:

• Car seat category "0". Such chairs are usually used for transporting children up to 6 months. The maximum allowed weight for a child is 10 kilograms. A he althy baby reaches this mass at the age of 8-12 months, so it is not safe to use the cradle beyond this period. The design of the cradle has a completely horizontal back, which is convenient for small children. This design contributes to the physiological position of the baby during the trip. You can only position the child perpendicular to the movement.
• Category 0+ can be used until the child weighs 13 kilograms. Such a car seat has a longer period of operation, so manufacturers provide for the possibility of changing the position of the back. In addition, car seats are considered more secure and durable than carrycots and perform better in crash tests.

There is a common misconception among parents that children under 6 months old should not be transported in car seats marked "0+" because of the semi-lying back. However, it does not exert any load on the still fragile spine of the baby. If the seat is installed correctly, the weight is evenly distributed over the surface of the back. Experts advise parents to choose seats from 0 to 13 kg, as they are the safest and can best protect the child in the event of an accident. But to useremovable cradles from strollers are strictly prohibited, as they are made of fragile plastic and are not designed to fully protect the baby on trips.

Where to install the child seat

The function of the infant carrier is to provide a comfortable and safe position for the baby throughout the journey. In order for the back of the newborn not to get tired, you need to change his position every 1.5 hours. To do this, it will be enough to stop and vilify the child a little, and then return it to the chair again if it is necessary to continue the journey. It is very dangerous to transport a child unfastened, as the seat can move to the side even during a slight deceleration.

The middle seat in the back seat is considered the most optimal for installing the infant carrier in the car. What are its advantages?

• The baby is within easy reach of the mother if she is driving. She can easily see him if she looks back while stopping at a traffic light. If a baby needs to be given a pacifier or a toy, this is also easy.
• The space behind the driver's seat is considered the safest. Studies have shown that during crashes, drivers, regardless of their parental instincts, try to turn the steering wheel so that the impact falls on the opposite side of the car. Therefore, passengers in the front right seat are most often affected. The middle position is the safest option.

How to install the infant carrier in the car

From the correct installation of the car seatThe safety of the baby is directly related. If the infant carrier is installed at the wrong angle, or in the direction of travel, then the risk of injury increases several times. In an emergency, any little thing can lead to irreversible consequences, which is why it is so important to know how to properly install the infant carrier in the car.

The cradle marked "0" is located in the rear seat. Due to its size, the carrier usually occupies two passenger seats. It will be most optimal to choose the right side of the machine for fixing the cradle. It is installed perpendicular to the movement and is fixed with seat belts. The child himself also needs to be fastened with straps, which usually run across the body of the baby, clasping and holding him in place. Each device has an image that schematically indicates the order and scheme for attaching the device. In case of any difficulty, you can refer to the instruction manual that comes with each infant carrier.

How else can I install the infant carrier in the back seat? Car seats marked “0+” that have a slightly raised backrest must be positioned rearward facing. The space behind the driver's seat is best suited for this. The chair must be at an angle of 30-45 degrees. This tilt allows for maximum safety for the hip joints and neck of the baby, which, according to statistics, suffer the most during accidents.

To correct the position of the chair is alloweduse rollers. You can even make them from old towels that are no longer needed in the household. In addition, the 45-degree tilt is the most comfortable for the baby and reduces the load on the back. If the tilt is too small, the body of the newborn is not physiologically positioned, and this can lead to difficulty breathing and even apnea.

Installing the infant carrier

The car seat is attached either to regular seat belts or using IsoFix mounts. The following is a brief instruction on how to install the infant carrier in the back seat:

1. Move the front passenger seat as far forward as possible.
2. Install the car seat in the opposite direction of the vehicle.
3. Pass the waist section of the belt through the special holes that are located on the sides of the chair.
4. Thread the shoulder section of the belt through a special slot on the back of the chair.
5. Fasten your seat belt.
6. Check the tension of the belts: the chair should not move and fidget from side to side.
7. Put the baby in the chair.
8. Fasten the car seat seat belts.
9. Check the tension and fastening of the belts. They should not cut into the body and make breathing difficult.

Some parents feel better when their baby is in close proximity to them, in the front seat. With this arrangement, the mother is psychologically more comfortable and she is less distracted by the child. How to install a car seat in the front seat? The procedure is almost the same: the chair is attached either with a seat belt or with the IsoFix attachment system. But there is one important digression: before continuing the trip, you must turn off the front airbag, as in the event of an accident, it can cause serious injury to the baby.

How to put the baby in the chair

How to properly install the infant car seat in the car? And why can't it be placed in the direction of travel? These questions are often asked by new parents. And there are clear answers to these questions. Statistics show that when children are placed facing the windshield, the risk of injury increases many times over. During a collision, there is a tremendous load on the child's cervical vertebrae, because the force pushes the baby forward. And when leaning back, the fragile skull of the baby may suffer. If you install the chair correctly, then the traumatic loads on the neck and head are significantly reduced.

IsoFix System

Most modern cars are produced with a standard IsoFix mounting system. It was developed by the International Organization for Standardization in order to improve the safety of transporting babies. How to install the infant carrier in a car equipped with IsoFix? First you need to make sure that the purchased car seat has special brackets on the sides of the back. If they are, they must be attached to the brackets located under the seat on the car body. Then the chair must be secured with an "anchor strap" that holds the top of the seat. Unlike fixing the infant car seat with conventional straps, the IsoFix mount holds the seat much more securely, since the brackets are locateddirectly on the car body.

How to choose the right safety chair

What should I look for when choosing a car seat for a newborn?

• The chair must be certified. You can ask the seller for supporting documents, by law he is obliged to provide them to you.
• Pay attention to the presence of a headrest and additional rollers on the sides and under the neck. They will help to place the child comfortably and safely in the chair.
• The device should fit the baby: not too big and not too small.

Recommendations

If a child is born in your family, the recommendations of experts on the selection and operation of a baby car seat will not be superfluous:

• Don't buy used goods. When buying from hand, you will never be able to check if the car seat has been in an accident. Even if it looks fine on the outside, it may have internal defects that affect the degree of safety.
• Don't fasten your baby too tightly: there should be a gap of about two fingers between the straps and the baby's body.
• Remove your child's winter clothes before wearing them.
• If your car seat has a carrying handle, lower it behind the backrest before placing it on the car seat.

Results

The car seat is an integral part of the life of modern parents who care about he alth andthe safety of your baby. Do not trust the myths that a newborn in a car seat is uncomfortable or uncomfortable to sit in. Modern infant carriers are made to meet all requirements, and their design was developed with the participation of orthopedists. Purchasing a child car seat should be one of the first purchases when a baby is born. And the guide on how to install the infant carrier in your car will help you to use this device in the safest way.